Rockpedia

Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Rock and roll1954

Second genre

Surf rock1961

Head to headRock and roll vs Surf rock
Rock and roll: heaviness 2, melody 8, speed 6. Surf rock: heaviness 2, melody 9, speed 6.Heaviness2 / 2Melody8 / 9Speed6 / 6
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Surf takes the guitar and drops the singer, replacing the voice with reverb-drenched melody. Same picking hand, no words.

Surf rock is mostly instrumental where rock and roll is sung cleanly, and a little faster: 160 to 200 bpm against 140 to 180. To hear the difference, play Chuck Berry next to Dick Dale. Surf rock grew out of rock and roll, seven years later.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Rock and roll2
Surf rock2
level
Speed
Rock and roll6
Surf rock6
level
Melody
Rock and roll8
Surf rock9
+1

Rock and roll

1954 · Memphis / Chicago, USA · 6 subgenres

Where it sits

Rock › Rock and roll

In short

Ground zero: twelve-bar blues sped up, piano hammered hard, lyrics about cars and girls. It made the electric guitar the defining instrument of the century.

How it sounds

  • Twelve-bar blues sped up, with piano pounded in eighths and saxophone where the guitar solo would later go.
  • The guitar plays short repeating riffs rather than long solos - Chuck Berry essentially wrote the vocabulary.
  • Mono production, one room, dance-hall energy.

Key acts

  • Chuck Berry
  • Little Richard
  • Elvis Presley
  • Bo Diddley

Start here

The pickChuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode. That opening riff is the DNA of the entire tree.

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Surf rock

1961 · California, USA

Where it sits

Rock › Rock and roll › Surf rock

In short

Instrumental, drenched in tank reverb, with fast tremolo picking. The sound of the Californian coast, later recycled by punk and by Tarantino.

How it sounds

  • Fender tank reverb dialled almost to maximum - the wet sound is mandatory.
  • Fast tremolo picking on a single note, a technique Dick Dale took from his family's Lebanese music.
  • Almost always instrumental; where there are vocals, they are Beach Boys-style harmonies.

Key acts

  • Dick Dale
  • The Ventures
  • The Beach Boys

Start here

The pickDick Dale - Misirlou. A Greek folk tune turned into artillery.

Full page →